


rattle

by stardustgirl



Series: powerful ‘verse [3]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Angst, Child Abuse, Dark Ezra Bridger, Empire Day, Ezra Bridger Needs a Hug, Heavy Angst, Imperialism, Kanan Jarrus Needs a Hug, Past Torture, Post-Order 66, Repressed Memories, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-01-30 08:00:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21424861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustgirl/pseuds/stardustgirl
Summary: Only a few years after Order 66, Kanan's Padawan is gone.He's not sure how (he knows why only too well), only that it has something to do with a recent increase in stormtroopers.  He just knows that he has to get Jai back, and fast.The arrival of an Imperial officer who seems oddly young might change his mind.(Third in the powerful 'verse, though it doesn't follow the same journal-type format as the first two.)
Series: powerful ‘verse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1496939
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Mental Invasion/Torture of a Child (via the Force)

“Very well done, my boy.”

He beams at the praise coming from the older man, nodding. “Thank you, Master.”

They both ignore the teen across the room, needlessly restrained by two of the red-robed guards as he whimpers and tries to keep himself as inconspicuous as possible.

“Do you remember what comes next?”

He tries not to wince at the word; he _ likes _ to forget. Remembering hurts, plain and simple.

He nods, hesitant.

“We find to out where the other one is, Master.”

“And how do we do that?”

He’s...not sure. He opens his mouth to admit so when the man cuts him off with a raised hand.

“It’s not surprising you’ve forgotten. We interrogate him. Pull the answers from his mind like you do when you find people.” Finding people. He’s good at that, he’s _ great _ at finding people.

Except for the teacher of the boy in front of them, apparently.

“May– may _ I _ try first, Master?”

His master nods.

Unable to hide a giddy smile, he turns, gesturing to the guards to bring the other boy closer. They do so, once again ignorant to his protests.

They shove the other teen to his knees and he bites back a cry, visibly wincing.

He reaches out a hand and probes the boy’s mind.

The screams are hard to ignore, but he just reminds himself that this is for the good of the Empire. The boy before him is misguided, and has committed unspeakable crimes. He needs to find out where the other is. There’s always another.

However, even after several minutes, he’s forced to pull out without an answer. The other teen is only held up by the guards’ grips on his elbows, and for a moment he thinks he’s unconscious, until the boy blinks with bleary eyes.

He prepares to try again.

“Wait,” his master calls as he reaches out his hand. He stops, shooting a glance over his shoulder. “Give him a chance to tell you now.”

He turns back to the teen, whose lips are now curled into a snarl.

“Kriff _ off._”

He reaches into the kid’s mind again, and ignores his screams as he presses for information.

* * *

Kanan clutches the bag to his chest tightly, breathing heavily as he peers around the corner of the building. The pair of stormtroopers still makes their way down the street with the slow march of a tooka on the prowl.

Swallowing, Kanan moves further back into the shadows before ducking away and running.

He finally lets himself relax five blocks away, permissing a shuddering sigh to slip out as he leans against the wall and rakes a hand through his hair. He finally opens the bag, pulling the datapad from within and keying it up with a quick glance over his shoulder. It takes a minute to load, likely slightly damaged in the chaos during its acquisition. But thankfully, it does, and the data appears intact. His eyes skim over the lines swiftly.

_ Jai Kell, estimated age seventeen, wanted for crimes against the Empire including (but not limited to) the following: _

_ Resisting arrest _

_ Assault of an officer of the Empire _

_ Robbery _

_ Unlicensed possession of firearms _

_ Suspect is suspected Jedi. Be alert. _

_ Status: TERMINATED _

But no. He knows Jai’s not gone. His Padawan isn’t dead. He would feel it if he were. Right?

Or maybe not. After all, he felt it when Depa died, but he’d also been close to her. Jai...the boy still had his shields mostly up to block Kanan—along with the rest of the world—when they’d been split up and he’d been captured.

And he had also been unnaturally attached to Depa.

Kanan sighs, shoving the datapad back into the bag and pushing away from the wall again. He needs to keep moving before the ‘troopers’ dragnet catches him. He won’t be the mouse to their tooka. Jai already was.

He won’t let himself fall the same way.

He weaves through the back streets, adjusting the bag until it’s no longer thumping against his chest every step. The Force thrums through him painfully with every step, murmuring _ failure failure failure _ until he shoves it away.

Finally he reaches the abandoned complex he’s been squatting in. He slips in under the “Condemned” sign, pushing back a curtain and making his way over to the stairs. He scales them easily, taking note to skip the gaping hole that devoured a step long before he found his way here. Upon reaching the second floor, he squeezes through the boarded up doorway and into the unit beyond. He passes the half-wrecked kitchenette and moves into the bedroom, setting down his bag next to the cot before sitting next to it, burying his face in his hands.

Five days.

It’s been five whole days since he’s seen Jai, and he still has no clue where they’ve taken him.

The thought that they’ve executed him is very, _ very _ prevalent in his mind right now, and his jaw tightens as he thinks of it. No. No, Jai isn’t dead. Jai _ can’t _ be dead.

He can’t have lost someone else already.

Shuddering, Kanan closes his eyes. Even in the darkness, he can still see his Padawan’s cocksure grin as he rolls his eyes, laughing, assuring Kanan he’ll be at the meeting spot on time.

Just before they had each rounded a different corner and Kanan heard the shots.

The warning chime for ten minutes until curfew sounds and Kanan flinches, glancing around. In only seconds, people will flood the streets. He moves to the window—careful to stay out of sight of the street—and watches the people below. He allows his consciousness to flow through and past them, trying to find Jai’s signature in the mass of other beings.

He can feel the still, stoic signatures of the stormtroopers above even him, watching the people below, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Their presence increased around the same time Jai disappeared. There’s a connection, Kanan knows, but he’s not sure why.

He only knows that it unsettles him.

The two minute warning chimes, and a calm, Core-accented voice calls a reminder that Empire Day is tomorrow.

_ Just _ great, he thinks with a sigh, slipping away from the window. _ Just kriffing _great.


	2. Chapter 2

“Boy.”

He approaches the elderly man, falling to one knee and lowering his head. “Yes, Master?”

“Do you know what day it is today?”

He raises his eyes to meet the man, cocking his head before shaking it. “No, Master.”

“Empire Day.”

A grin edges onto his face. “My birthday, Master?”

“That as well.” The man nods, chuckling softly as he rises. His master steps down from the dais, approaching the teen and resting a hand on his shoulder.

For a quick moment, the boy feels something _ different _ in the man’s grip. The feeling vanishes when the man’s hand leaves his shoulder.

“Would you like a present?” He nods, and the man smiles. “What do you remember of your life from before the Clone War?”

He frowns, thinking. “...not much, Master,” he admits. “I don’t remember anything. I’m sorry.”

His master’s expression flickers for a moment before the man nods. “Regardless, your home planet is Lothal. Today marks three years since it has been subdued. There is a shuttle waiting on the third landing pad that will take you up to the Star Destroyer _ Relentless_. From there, you will travel to Lothal. An ISB agent will have the address of your destination. You will have the next two weeks off as well.”

His eyes widen and he nods eagerly. “Thank you, Master.”

“You’re welcome, my boy.”

His master squeezes his shoulder again, and the weird feeling comes back.

He ignores it.

* * *

Kallus raises an eyebrow as he steps out and onto the bridge, but he pretends not to notice. He’s silently surprised he even _ remembers _ Kallus’s name for once; normally, he knows, he _ wouldn’t. _

But today is different, for a multitude of reasons.

“Trace. We should be leaving in an hour,” the agent says by way of greeting. The teen nods.

“Okay. I want to stay on the bridge this time.”

Kallus stares at him for a long moment before finally nodding. “Would the Emperor allow you to?”

“He doesn’t have an opinion on it,” he says, shrugging. “As long as I’m not interfering with anything.”

“Hmm. Alright. Konstantine should be up here soon. And _ try _ not to mess up too much?”

He levels a hard glance at Kallus. “I _ never _ mess up.”

Kallus shrugs. “I’ll leave you to that, then. I have some other matters to attend to.”

He nods, watching as Kallus strides past him and toward the repulsorlift. Another high-ranking officer, this one actually _ in _ the navy if his uniform is any indicator, exits a ‘lift as Kallus enters the one next to it. “Admiral,” he says by way of farewell. The naval officer doesn’t respond beyond a derisive sniff, and the ‘lift door closes.

“Trace,” the officer says, approaching him with a raised brow. He nods, recognizing the name most of the officers he usually interacts with have given him.

“Yeah?”

“Why aren’t you doing your job?” the man asks, sniffing as he looks down at him. He glares back.

“I don’t _ have _ a job right now. My job is to wait until we’re on Lothal.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be tracing Force-sensitives?”

“Not this time.” He keeps his gaze steady, daring the admiral to try and say otherwise.

The admiral holds his gaze for an equally long moment before sighing and throwing up his hands. “Fine. Do what you want, since you’re clearly above me.”

He smirks slightly at that, glad the man finally sees reason before remembering what Kallus said. “Oh, the agent said Konstantine would be up here soon. Do you know when? I needed to ask—“

“Boy,” the admiral interrupts, “_ I _ am Konstantine. Is this some sort of a _ game _ to you?”

Kriff. He forgot. _ Again. _

_ Forgetting is much better than remembering. _

“I– I forgot, Admiral, I’m sorry—“

Konstantine raises a hand and he falls silent, swallowing as the man speaks. “You may stay on the bridge the remainder of the journey, if you want. But not a _ word, _ understand?”

He nods hurriedly. “Yes, Admiral.”

Konstantine only offers a thin smile before turning his attention back to the bridge technicians.

The teen, in turn, retreats to the shadows of the bridge, the muted singing of the kybers in his ‘saber his only comfort.

* * *

Kanan leaves the dilapidated building and emerges into the crowd with his head down, trying not to make physical contact when he can avoid it. Sometimes he can’t and he’s forced to shove through a cluster of people, squeezing his eyes shut and just trying to keep his breathing even.

_ They’re not all out to get you they’re not all Imperial they’re not all— _

“The address is this way.”

His head jerks up, breath catching as he glances around wildly. A few people bump into him, one muttering a string of curses, but he barely registers them as he searches for the speaker.

“Here, turn here.”

He whirls in time to catch sight of a pair of ‘troopers accompanying a teen. The boy’s dressed in a uniform, though it’s different than the ones he’s seen the cadets wear. _ Much _ different.

And hooked on the boy’s back is a circular device that almost seems to _ scream _ to Kanan’s soul.

His blood runs cold.

Kanan _ bolts. _

He only realizes the issue when he’s eight feet ahead, shoving through the swamped streets as behind, a stormtrooper yells for him to halt. He doesn’t listen, of course, only turns down a marginally less crowded side street and drops into a hurried walk.

_ Stay calm stay calm stay _calm—

“There! There he is!”

He moves to bolt again, only realizing his mistake at the last minute. He’s near enough to the edge of the city square that there’s a blockade of ‘troopers checking IDs for everyone entering and exiting the end of the street.

_ It’s Empire Day, of _ course _ there kriffing is. _

He swallows, glancing over his shoulder. The ‘troopers who were chasing him originally are shoving their way through the crowd, searching for him. Kanan pulls his hood on and ducks his head.

_ Maybe I can just make it up to the ID check and then make a run for it— _

There’s a tap on his shoulder that makes him jump, stumbling backward and bumping into someone. “Sorry!” he mutters, turning back around to see who tapped him.

It’s a pair of cadets, a girl and a boy who both look even younger than Jai.

“Excuse me, sir, could you fill out a quick survey for us?” the girl asks.

He risks a quick glance back; the pair of stormtroopers are still making their way through the crowd. Maybe, just maybe….

“Uh, sure,” he answers, clearing his throat. “What’s it on?”

The girl hands him her datapad as the boy pipes up. “It’s for our project on how people prefer to celebrate Empire Day. You’ll be helping us get good marks by participating.”

“Sure, sure, yeah,” he mumbles distractedly, hurriedly typing in the first fake birthdate that comes to mind before swiping to the next screen. He makes up something about celebrating with family, taking care to take a while typing.

In the crowd, the pair of stormtroopers run past him and he resists breathing a sigh of relief.

“Here you go.” He finishes the survey with another quick tap, handing it back.

“Thank you!” the girl says, smiling brightly.

In her eyes, he sees something reminiscent of Jai’s youthful eagerness. He blinks, glancing at the boy. The kid nods eagerly in gratitude, and once again, he sees Jai in the way he bobs his head.

He’s going to be sick.

He nods, more distracted than he was before, and offers a quick wave. “Good luck with...with your project.”

He disappears into the crowd, backtracking to his hideout before the ‘troopers realize he’s gone. He just needs to lay low the rest of today, that’s all. It won’t be that hard.

At least, that’s what he tells himself.


End file.
